We were lucky to catch up with Joy Mason recently and have shared our conversation below.

Joy, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?

This is a client testimonial:

“I couldn’t wait to share the incredible journey I’ve been on since jumping into the world of Six Sigma with Joy Mason and the awesome team at the Six Sigma Racial Equity Institute. It has been an amazing ride!

When I first joined SSREI cohort 2, I’ll be honest, I was feeling a little shaky in my professional spaces. I lacked confidence because I didn’t have a college degree then, but had a hunger to learn and grow. So, I jumped into the program headfirst, eager to soak up all the knowledge and skills SSREI and my coaches provided. And my goodness, did they deliver.

Through five intense days of class training and months of work on a community project focused on equity, I not only learned Six Sigma principles but also found a whole new level of confidence within myself.

I am beyond grateful for my teammates Tamara Winfrey Harris and Vicki Bonds. During our project, we tackled FAFSA completion rates for black students in Indianapolis Public Schools. We worked alongside the IPS administration to ensure equitable access to financial aid for every student. It was challenging, it was rewarding, and it truly made a difference in our community.

Armed with this newfound confidence and skillset, I decided to take a leap of faith and leave my comfortable, yet stagnant job of 18 years. And guess what? It paid off big time. My salary increased by over 40%, and I found myself in a career where I get to apply Six Sigma principles every single day.

I owe a huge shoutout to Joy Mason and the SSREI crew for believing in me and pushing me to be the best version of myself. Seriously, Joy’s support and guidance have been nothing short of life-changing. As I gear up to start law school this fall, I’m taking all the lessons and experiences from SSREI with me, knowing they’ve laid a solid foundation for whatever comes next.”

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Answering the Call for Equity

“What can I do?” That was the gnawing question that gripped me during the turbulent summer of 2020. Systemic inequities and unjust treatment of Black people have plagued our country since ‘Freedom’ was declared in 1776. George Floyd’s murder in 2020 was a racial and cultural tipping point not only in the United States, but around the world. It wasn’t the first senseless police killing of a Black male, but it was the one that finally seemed to resonate beyond the Black community. And for me it was a deep and urgent call to action.

I experienced a roller coaster of emotions, from anger and sadness, to tears and frustration. During that time, I had difficult conversations with White friends who proclaimed that they never saw my color. I also gained new friends who said they wanted to see and understand my ‘color’. During these emotional, but productive, conversations, I continued to ask myself “What can I do?”

In July of 2020, a friend, Deondra Wardelle, asked me to write a blog for her #rootcauseracism® series. My article focused on leveraging Six Sigma to tackle racial inequities in the recruitment and promotion of Blacks in corporate America. The seed was planted.

In January 2021, I knew that for me, the conversations, tears, book clubs and platitudes had run their course. For decades, I participated in countless community meetings about race relations, educational inequities, police relations, and systemic racism. While the community discussions, task forces, and committees had good intentions, it felt like we were perpetually spinning in the same circles – with no clarity of the actual problem, root causes, or viable solutions. Still, I had to do something. In February, I thought “What if I could train Black women on a robust methodology to address inequities in the Black community? What if these women could be trained to leverage six sigma to further develop their leadership skills while also tackling some of the most challenging issues that impact our community? What if these trained women could become change agents to change how we talk about and solve racial inequities? What if this vision is the reason I was given the opportunity to be certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt?”

I shared this vision with a local Black Belt, who suggested I contact the Purdue Manufacturing Extension Program to explore the idea further. Five months later, a pilot cohort of 12 Black women began virtual classes as part of the Six Sigma Racial Equity Initiative™, created by my company Optimist Business Solutions. This was the first all-female and all Black Cohort for Purdue MEP. These women represent business, education, and non-profit sectors. They are passionate, committed and smart. All passed the exam on August 13, 2021, and their projects will impact Black maternal mortality programs, poor retention of Black employees, participation of Black students in a local civics programs, and more. They are using Six Sigma to clearly define problems and viable solutions. Their work is creating a better understanding and methodology for processes to include community voice, evaluate and analyze data collection, and reveal root causes. These women are leaders who will use their training to leverage systems for continuous improvement. This is one way to make fundamental changes for long term impact and outcomes. The seeds were planted, and the question “What can I (we) do” was answered.

For more information on the Six Sigma Racial Equity Initiative and how to get involved, go to www.optimistindy.com/racialequity or email info@optimistindy.com.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 2018, I discovered that I had a brain tumor but the tumor was not growing. And in 2021, I was running a business, Optimist Business Solution, and a non-profit agency, the Six Sigma Racial Equity Institute (SSREI). Running two businesses and supporting aging parents and two sons obviously contributed to some stress. I believe the stress contributed to the growth of the brain tumor. In 2022, I launched Cohort 2 knowing that I needed surgery to remove the growing tumor behind my left eye. My vision declined the longer I delayed surgery. So after the kick-off meeting for Cohort 2, I quietly disappeared. My husband and I flew to the Mayo Clinic to have the tumor removed on July 8. Thank God, the tumor was successfully removed, however, I lost sight in my left eye. The optic nerve had a stroke. I was initially devastated, but my faith is strong and my family is incredibly supportive. Faith and family means everything to me. I go to the hospital once a year to see if the tumor has grown back. In the meantime, I stay hopeful and optimistic. I am resilient and have so much to be thankful for. We are now launching Cohort 4. It doesn’t matter that I am partially blind. The institute is still positively impacting the community and changing lives.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I started the Six Sigma Racial Equity Institute with only a vision and divine inspiration. I did not have metrics and I had only a few funders. I did not have a building and I did not have staff. When I reached out to share my message and recruit participants, I could only hope that they would trust me and trust my leadership development process. I was very intentional about my brand, my message and my values. People don’t invest their time and money unless they trust you. As a result of my intentionality, my first Cohort trusted the institute and me. The first Cohort had a tremendous learning experience. They shared their stories with other women. Those women shared their stories to more women. I initially thought participants were paying for information and certification. Now I realized they are actually investing in personal transformation. Our participants not only attained a globally respected credential, but they also leave us feeling more confident and empowered. Confidence and empowerment are contagious.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sixsigmaindy.org/
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/joy-e-mason-cssbb

Image Credits
Image Owner: Joy Mason